Traffic signal with directional indicator

ABSTRACT

Substantially translucent lenses to be used in combination with standard traffic control signals. Information relating to the direction of vehicles are provided in such a manner on the lenses that motorists are constrained to view the information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is generally the practice throughout the United States to providemany types of information to motorists by way of lettered signs alongthe sides of roadways. In certain instances, at least, the placing ofsuch signs may be inefficient, unsafe, and uneconomical.

Consider a motorist desirous of orienting himself to the compass bearingof the street along which he is driving. Under the present system, ifsuch information is given at all, it usually is only on street signswhich tell the motorist whether the street numbers are, for example,North or South. In the few cases where directional information is givendirectly, the signs are far apart and not conveniently located. In anyevent, the motorist must continually take his eyes from the traffic andtraffic flow control devices and signals to search out such signs togive him the requisite information as to which direction he istraveling. The search can be both time-consuming and frustrating as wellas unsafe (to the extent that one's attention is diverted for asignificant portion of the driving time.) Too, the chance of notperceiving a sign that one passes is good, because of the tremendousnumber of signs and other visual inputs that assault the mind whiledriving. Traditional direction signs, of course, add to the volume ofdistractions and unsightly objects along roadways. Any means of reducingtheir number without foregoing their usefulness would be beneficial.

Road signs are also expensive for any municipality to provide. This isundoubtedly one reason for so few on the roadways that offer informationrelative to vehicle compass headings. The dearth of direction signs addsto the general confusion of being lost since one never knows where thenext such sign might be. For the motorist in need of orientation, thelack of sufficient numbers of direction signs supplied in a systematicmanner makes the task of finding one oftentimes difficult.

Another problem of particular interest relative to the present inventionis that of the motorist who is merely confused or who does not realizehe is indeed lost. Such a person would normally not be looking fordirectional information, and therefore he might fail to see any signwhich is located in the traditional manner. The freeway age in which welive makes this a significant problem in itself. People are constantlyexiting from freeways by circuitous ramps, thus arriving at oftenunfamiliar surroundings, after having had their bearings confused. Oftenthey are not even aware that their sense of direction has been adverselyaffected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention alleviates in great measure the difficulties setforth above. In the peferred embodiment, one of the three colored lensesof a standard traffic signal is provided with vehicle headinginformation, preferably in the form of an abbreviation denoting thedirection of travel. Thus a motorist travelling north on a north-southstreet would see in one of the lenses of each of the traffic signals hepasses a large block letter "N." Similarly, depending upon the directionof travel he might also see in the respective lenses the letters "S,""E," "W," "NW," "SE," and so on. An alternative embodiment is alsocontemplated wherein traffic signals would be provided with a forthlight on which the vehicle heading information would appear.

The novel arrangement herein set forth exhibits a number of significantadvantages over the traditional means of supplying motorists withdirectional information. Among these advantages is the important factthat every driver must look at the traffic signals he encounters.According to the present invention, useful direction information isprovided in a location such that merely driving a vehicle past a signalensures that people will see it. The driver not only "forced" to viewthe vehicle heading information displayed thereon, but the viewingthereof does not necessitate taking ones eyes from the road any morethan is normally required to view the traffic signals. One need not castone's eyes about the sides of the roadway while driving along.

Another advantage, related in part to the safety considerations, is theutility of the contemplated systematic depolyment of the novel lenses ofthe present invention in every signal in a municipality of jurisdiction.In such an arrangement, motorists in any given area would known that thevehicle heading information was displayed in all the signals, andtherefore they would not, when lost, have to search the road sides, asdiscussed above. Further, the lenses of the preferred embodiment couldeasily be placed in traffic signals in such a systematic manner becauseof the low cost involved, especially as compared with the cost oftraditional road signs. For example, the operation could be accomplishedsimply by exchanging all the old green lenses for the lettered lenses ofthe present invention. Also, installation of the devices in the presentinvention would mean that removal and disposal of the unsightly roadsigns thus displaced could also be accomplished.

Finally, it would be pointed out that the present invention provides anefficient means for apprising people who have unknowingly lost theirbearings of their true situation. Rather than making them dependent on achance sighting of a traditional road sign, the needed information isreadily apparent immediately upon encountering a traffic signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These, and other advantages of the present invention, may be moreclearly understood and appreciated by reference to the attacheddrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an intersection, each corner of which isprovided with a traffic signal utilizing the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of a traffic signal incorporating thepreferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of an alternate embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring first to FIG. 1, there is depicted an intersection 10 havingat each of the four corners traffic signals of the well known andcommonly-used variety provided with the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention. (The arrow 12 indicates the compass direction"North"). Except for the inclusion of the lens 14 with the vehicleheading information, which in the exemplary embodiment has the form ofan abbreviation "N" disposed thereon, the traffic signal 15 is in allrespects a standard model such as is generally used. As shown in FIG. 1,the lens 14 is the green lens. An amber lens 16 and a red lens 17 arealso depicted. Conventional means for selectively illuminating each ofthe lenses from behind are provided within the traffic signal 15.

A traffic signal 18 is also shown, which signal is identical with thetraffic signal 15 with the exception of the provision of a green lens 20having the letter "E" disposed thereon. The other two traffic signalsshown 22 and 24, have the letters "S" and "W" disposed on theirrespective green lenses (not shown). Although both the "N" on the lens14 and the "E" on the lens 20 are visible simultaneously in the drawing,this is solely to show clearly the function of the present invention. Inactual use, at any instant of time, the only two letters being visiblesimultaneously would be the "N" and "S," when their respectiveilluminating means are on and those of the "E" and the "W" are off; orthe "E" and "W" when their respective illuminating means are on andthose of the "N" and "S" are off.

Having reference now to FIG. 2, there is shown individually the trafficsignal 24. Indicated by reference numerals 26, 28 and 30 respectivelyare a red lens, an amber lens, and a green lens. Vehicle headinginformation--in this embodiment having the form of a block "W" -- isprovided on the green lens 30 such that the light transmissioncharacteristics are thereby altered. Although the letter "W" as shown isopaque, so as to block entirely a portion of the light beam emanatingfrom the illumination means (not shown) within the traffic signal 24itself, it is also contemplated that the letter could be reproduced onthe lens in, for example, outline form, such that merely the outline ofthe letter is actually opaque. As another alternative the background ofthe lens could be opaque with only the letter translucent, although suchis not preferred as it reduces visibility of the traffic signal.Furthermore, it is possible also to provide the vehicle headinginformation on another of the standard three lenses. The information maybe applied to the lens by any technique known in the art, through themethods of etching or stencilling are thought to be particularly apt.

As shown in FIG. 3, an alternative embodiment is contemplated wherein atraffic signal 32 is provided with four lenses: a red lens 34, an amberlens 36, a green lens 38, and a forth lens 40, which may be of anyappropriate color. The lens 40 would be illuminated continuously, thusoffering the advantage of constant visibility of the vehicle headinginformation. In this embodiment of the present invention, the vehicleheading information takes the form of an abbreviation for a compassdirection and is shown as the letter "S" on the lens 40.

In operation, a motorist travelling north toward the intersection 10 ofFIG. 1 would see, when he had the green light, the letter "N" on the(green) lens 14. Due to the lens shades normally placed over the trafficsignal lenses, the driver heading north would not usually be able to seethe traffic signals for drivers travelling in the other directions, thusno confusion would result.

What is claimed is:
 1. Apparatus for displaying adjacent a roadwayorientational information indicative of the compass heading direction inwhich a vehicle must be traveling if the vehicle operator can view theapparatus, in such a manner that motorists on said roadway must ofnecessity observe it, comprising:a traffic signal comprised of at leastthree different-colored lenses and means of illuminating said lenses.[.selectively.]., said traffic signal installed with said lensesdirected toward a first compass heading; and means for permanentlymodifying the light beam transmitted by one of said lenses to conveyinformation indicative of a second compass heading opposite said firstcompass heading to provide information as to the direction in whichvehicles approaching the traffic signal are traveling.
 2. The apparatusas described in claim 1 in which said means for modifying the light beamtransmitted by said one of said lenses of traffic signal comprises theprovision on said one of said lenses of an abbreviation for the compassheading direction in which vehicles subject to the instructions of saidtraffic signal are traveling.
 3. A traffic signal comprising, incombination:a plurality of different-colored lenses adapted to beilluminated from behind and facing so as to be clearly directed forvisibility by vehicle traffic heading in only one compass direction;means for .[.selectively.]. illuminating each of said lenses; andvehicle heading information provided on one of said lenses such that thelight transmission characteristics of said one of said lenses arealtered thereby, said vehicle heading information comprising anabbreviation for said one compass direction.
 4. The traffic signalapparatus as set forth in claim 3 in which said vehicle headinginformation is provided on the green lens of said traffic signal.